About

Our cover model BeeDee!!!

Why Fat Cats?

A poseur aficionado of fat cattery might be tempted to suggest that there are enough pictures of cats on the Internet to satisfy several Earths. Google Image “fat cat” and you can scroll for days. But this exercise actually proves the desperate need for Fat Cats. The prevalent image of the fat cat today in the United States is cynical and not silly: the fat cat is a space for low-grade brutishness and malaise: cats posed with beer bottles, cats stuck in doors, cats seemingly contemplating whether they would like to eat other less-fat cats. In short: unhealthy cats. Meant to be mocked and shamed.
This is 2016. The world has matured. We have also made leaps and bounds in awareness and understanding that all body types can be beautiful and all body shapes can be healthy. These grand and portly cats celebrate that sentiment. Sure, they are fat. But they are also kind, complex, distinguished, smart. These cats are beautiful. And yes sometimes silly. They aren’t weaponized memes or opportunities for adolescent taunting. They’re opportunities for adolescent giggling and cuddling, companionship and connection. They make us laugh. These are avatars for a joyful renaissance of the cat.
Fat Cats is ahead of the curve. And also very curvy.

These cute curvy cats and their owners’ affectionate and candid insights into their personalities will have you seeing your own roly-poly pet in a whole new light. After all, chubby cats are the cutest cats. Just don’t tell them that to their face. They may just swat you.

...(aka Cuddles) the peak nose Persian who's short on smiles but not on love! Although he's often mistaken for a grump, this portly feline can usually be found greeting visitors at the door or cuddling on the couch and snoozing in the big spoon position."

The Book:

Similar to my previous senior dog book OLD FAITHFUL: Dogs of a Certain Age, I realized that larger, chubby cats were somewhat under represented in popular culture in favor of more svelte, slimmer cats. I decided it was time to celebrate them and put them in the spotlight. Having photographed a large number of cats so far and having speaking to their owners one thing became clear: you own a dog, but a cat owns you. They are in charge. This is reflected in these stories and images. Fat Cats intends to honour 75 of these cuddly creatures in a 150 page 8x10 hard cover coffee table book with thoughtful tributes from their owners and, most importantly, 150 beautiful photographs of these chubby cats.

"This is Rusty..."

...she's our soft loaf of bread with baby carrot legs and she's more vocal than Tina Turner. She loves everybody and when she sits with you and purrs it's like having a little chainsaw revving beside you. Her loves include lean sliced deli chicken, cat nip, and two-four beer boxes because they fit her voluptuous physique."

The Kickstarter:

This Kickstarter project is aimed to raise funds to cover the remaining production cost of developing the project (which is half complete) and to print the best quality version of this limited edition, signed, hard cover art coffee table book. I am looking for a bunch of "feline"thropists to help make this a reality!

"Evie is a well mannered cat...

...who enjoys chasing shadows and eating the finest pate. She is currently working on her beach body."

The Breakdown:

The financial needs of my Kickstarter goal of $23 000 is as follows:

Completing the project and publishing the first edition. I have completed 35 cats so far as proof of concept for my Fat Cats project. I am hoping to photograph another 75 more cats and edit down (photograph approx. 150 subjects and edit down to the top 75 to be featured in the book). When photographing a project I often crowdsource for potential subjects, and the response I've gotten from fat cat owners has been incredible. I have a huge database of potential cats that I would love to photograph for this project. As any cat owner (and photographer) knows, cats are not easy to photograph. In order to capture the best, most intimate portrait of each of these little darlings I travel to each cats own home (cats get a bit frazzeled outside of their familiar environment) where I spend the time needed for them to get comfortable with me. I also spend this time interviewing the owners who provide me with a little bio and anecdotes of their big furball. This way of shooting can be time consuming and costly but it the most efficient way to get great shots and stories.

The Kickstarter will cover the production, printing and packaging costs of the first limited edition hard cover art coffee table books. This goal includes the up to 10% fee of total funding collected by Kickstarter, a 10% contingency fund, taxes, storage, transportation, etc. Like all Kickstarter projects, we can only proceed with your generous support to reach our goal in full within this limited time frame. If we do not reach this goal pledges will not be charged and our book will not go to print. It's all or nothing. Further funds raised within this project will be utilised to "kickstart" up-and-coming & future projects!

"Luigi is the Godfather-like-boss-cat of our brood. All the other cats (and humans) pledge their fealty to him and he doles out licks when it suits him"

"Chewy"

"He's a pretty plump guy, but we suspect it's not so much from overeating as from never wanting to leave the comfort of a warm lap."

"Wookie"

"Newcomers beware, Wookie is a one woman cat, and any unsuspecting passerby will quickly become her prey. She has no qualms with drawing blood."

"Edie"

"Despite being quiet and standoffish, Edie is a constant joy to us. Her size is no obstacle to her level of activity as she can play for hours. She's a very adept cat at mouse catching."

"Crookshanks"

"Crookshanks loves lasagna and hates Mondays. He sleeps most of the day, getting up only occasionally to assert his dominance upon those present in the house."

"Pebbles"

"Pebbles is both affectionate and sassy. She has a hankering for a pinch of fish flakes at any hour of the day, and is both fascinated and horrified of the front door."

"Chesterfield"

"Chesterfield hates pretty much everything. He doesn't have any likes, aside from dry kibble. Despite all of this, he comes to greet me at the door when I come home and wants to sit next to me, and sleeps at my feet every night."

Chesterfield with a his fine art print!

In home photoshoot with Rusty!

Risks and challenges

The biggest risk is not being funded! I am an experienced professional photographer and author of a previous photobook and am very familiar with the publishing process and and confident in my abilities to see this project through and deliver a top quality book to my pledgers. Thank you so much for your support and lets make Fat Cats happen!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 45 or more
About US$ 33

Fat Cats Book + Signed + Credit in back

This is it!!! First (limited) addition print hardcover art coffee table book. Individually signed by me! In time for Xmas 2017. Also for the first 1000 supporters your name (or your cat's) will be credited in the back of the book as a token of my thanks and appreciation for helping make Fat Cats possible!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge CA$ 80 or more
About US$ 60

The Book and the Print Gift Pack

First (limited) addition print hardcover art coffee table book. Individually signed by me! In time for Xmas 2017.An autographed 8x10 Fine Art print of your favourite Fat Cat seen on the Kickstarter page! Please let me know which cat you would like printed when pledging